Count it Pure Joy When the World Comes Crashin

I went the to the Rock and Worship Roadshow last night - it was awesome. To my friends in Seattle and Portland - it is coming your way - don't miss it.

One song that Mercy Me sings is Alright - the song closes with a refrain that says - Count it pure joy when the world comes crashin - hold your head up and keep on dancin. I love that song it reminded me of the Blog I meant to write all day yesterday - so I am just going to combine it with today's thoughts.

Romans 5 is an incredible chapter of hope and encouragement. It opens by telling us to rejoice when we face trials and problems? Why should we rejoice - well as Mercy Me so eloquently states in the same song - There's a love much stronger than anything that holds you down.

Problems that we face are simply a chance for God to develop our character. God has a plan for us - the person that we are today is not the person that He wants us to be in the future - He wants us to grow and develop and mature and trust him to use us for greater things.

The love that is stronger than any problem we face is proven by the fact that Jesus Christ came to die for our sins while we were still sinners. He didn't say - get yourself straighened out and then I will come rescue you - He came first. So that we may have eternal life through Jesus Christ.

I guess one thing that I would like to add here is a simple reminder that no matter what you are going through in life - it is only temporary. The world may come crashin down around us - but if we can hold up our head and keep on dancin - praising God in all that we do - remembering that He loves us and is walking through it with us - we will come out the other side stronger than we went into it.

Here is a music video of Alright by Mercy Me - enjoy.

A Heart Condition

First of all let me start by saying that I hope to begin blogging on a more regular basis again. Life is crazy this time of year. Regardless of whether I blog or not - I hope that you have been keeping up with the bible reading. Spending time with God and in His Word is the biggest source of Hope that we can have - and in a time when our economy is struggling and people are losing jobs and money is tight - that is a pretty big deal.

We have been reading for the past few days in Romans - which happens to be my favorite book of the bible. No other book of the bible so clearly demonstrates my need for a savior and God's faithfulness, grace, and mercy being offered to me.

Romans 3:1-20 explains to us the importance of obeying God. God loves us and wants what is best for us - true He is magnified by His willingness to forgive our sins - but that doesn't mean that we should just keep sinning so that we can be forgiven for more.

The fact of the matter is that God IS GOING TO JUDGE US. One day we will all be held accountable for our lives. But when we are covered by the grace of God - we are judged by the condition of our HEART - not so much by our actions. Our outward actions are simply a reflection of what exists on the inside.

If we lie and say - I can do whatever I want - I can sin and do what I want because it makes God look good when he forgives me - the truth is that the condition of our heart in that case is selfish and sinful.

If we struggle and fight against sin - we will still sin from time to time - but in that case the condition of our heart is to serve and follow God. We can never follow all of His commands on our own - but the question that we need to ask is - what is the true desire of my heart. Is it self-serving and self-pleasing - or is it God serving and God pleasing?

Nothing that we can DO will ever disqualify us from the forgiveness of sins. God will forgive us of ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS - everyone sins - so what separates the righteous from the unrighteous on judegment day? The condition of the heart.

Wishful Thinking

I find it interesting that one of the primary charges brought before Pilate, against Jesus, by the religious leaders of his day in Luke 23:1-12 is that he was misleading the people.

While we know that it was actually the Pharisees and Priests that were leading the people astray by leading them to religion rather than to God - I can't help but think what it would be like today if it were against the Law to mislead people.

Unfortunately it isn't - that is why it is so important to spend time with God - listening to His voice so that we can be protected from being misled. We need to learn to recognize the voice of God and to listen to that voice as it leads us to the truth.

Random Ramblings

Well it's been a little while since I posted - and for that I apologize. I hope that you have been keeping up with your reading. It is so important to spend time in God's word. One of the reasons that I haven't posted is that most of the readings from Powered by 4 over the past week or so have been pretty straightforward. Oh - I have had thoughts that I felt I should post - but I just didn't get to it. If there was something that you are wondering about - feel free to post questions.

I guess another reason that I didn't post recently is that I have been a little consumed at home and at work - both at the church and at my contract engineering job. No excuses - just telling you like it is. It seems like there is so much going on.

I've been studying the book of Daniel in a men's biblestudy that I am a part of (talk about challenging and confusing - wow), I've been teaching on Love and Marriage as part of our FIREPROOF YOUR MARRIAGE series at church (fun and exciting), working a second job, and trying to raise up six kids. Life is crazy - but one thing that remains constant is our need for a solid foundation that comes from the Lord. If we don't have that - we will get swept away by the flood of life.

Today's Powered by 4 reading in Luke 22:14-30 included the institution of the Lord's Supper as well as the episode where the disciples begin arguing over who will be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Which is what I want to talk about a little.

Jesus basically says you are all going to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven because you have stuck with me through my trials on earth so don't worry about it - instead get out there and serve other people - just as I have served you.

It seems to me that Judas was present with Jesus when He made this statement. Was Judas included in the promise of sitting on thrones in Heaven judging the 12 tribes of Israel? People have often associated the 12 Apostles with twelve thrones judging 12 the 12 tribes. But Jesus doesn't say you will sit on 12 Thrones. He says you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes.

I don't think Judas was included in that promise. Scripture makes it clear that in doing so - he was excluded from the blessings of God. I think that maybe it was one last warning to Judas to reconsider his actions. Jesus was talking about serving others out of love.

Never pass up an opportunity to do good for someone else. Never pass up an opportunity to help other people - to serve them with the gifts and talents that the Lord has given you. Don't be self-centered.

Life isn't about you or me. It is about living our life as a life of worship to the one that Created us.

Unmistakable

If the when Jesus returns He will be so unmistakable that he describes it like this - "Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other." in Luke 11:24 from today's reading in Luke 17:11-37. Why is it that so many people will be deceived by the Anti-Christ? I'm not sure - but I know that it will be true. So the lesson that we need to come away from here with is this - if someone else has to tell you that Christ has returned and urges you to come with them to see him - you can be guaranteed that it is not Christ.

When Christ returns - a couple of things that we can be sure of. It will be completely unexpected. Just as the flood was completely unexpected and the destruction of Sodom was unexpected. The other thing that we can be sure of is that if we are Christians - it will be as impossible for us to miss as a lightning bolt flashing across the sky on the darkest of nights.

The one thing that I do know is this - Christ is coming back again - our job is to be ready.

What's Faith Got to Do With It?

I must admit that today's reading in Luke 17:1-10 took me by surprise just a little bit. When I first read, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you" - my first thought was - WOW - that is the first major translation difference that I have seen in the English Standard Version (ESV). But when I went to the NLT and the NIV - the both read practically the same wam.

It's not that I hadn't read this before - but that sometimes scripture gets so ingrained in our minds that we completely skim over things thinking that we know what it says.

I think that most people are more familiar with a similar passage in Matthew 17 where Jesus says "if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." So why the difference? Is this a contradiction in the Gospels?

I doubt it. It is much more likely that the authors were relaying two separate instances where Jesus happened to teach on similar things. Remember that Jesus went from place to place teaching. I am sure that he adapted his teachings to fit his audience and his surroundings. Don't public speakers that travel around the Country do that today? Sure they do - that is what makes them such great speakers.

Besides that - whether it was a mountain, a mulberry tree, or a sycamore tree as some translations read - does it really matter. If any of the three got up and obeyed my command - wouldn't it be a mighty miracle regardless of what it was? Of course.

The point that Jesus was making has nothing to do with what kind of tree it was. It has to do with faith. Now I want to point out that Jesus was not accusing his disciples of having NO faith. They asked Jesus to increase their faith (notice they already had faith) - but Jesus responded by essentially saying - the size of your Faith doesn't matter - what matters is what is that Faith placed upon or in?

The disciples thought that they needed a bigger faith to do more faith to do bigger miracles - but our faith doesn't perform the miracles - it is the one that we place that Faith in that truly matters.

All the faith in the world that is misplaced will not accomplish anything - but the tiniest amount of Faith - placed in the right place - can accomplish anything.

Living out the Truth

How many times have I heard someone say something like - If only God would make it more clear - If God would prove it - If God would write it in the sky - Then I would become a Christian.

I can't tell you how many times I have sat and talked with people - presented them with the truth of the scriptures and the reason why we need to be forgiven and how that has been done through Jesus Christ - only to have them respond - yes, that makes sense - I'm just not ready to make a commitment yet.

What more do you need? How can it be made more clear?

Today's reading in Luke 16:18-31 proves that this is not a problem that we have just today. It was a common problem even in Jesus' day. The final verses of this passage read like this:

27And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers^[b]—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' 29But Abraham said, 'They have^(O) Moses and the Prophets;^(P) let them hear them.' 30And he said, 'No,^(Q) father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31He said to him, 'If they do not hear^(R) Moses and the Prophets,^(S) neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"

The fact of the matter is that someone has risen from the dead. And as predicted in Jesus' parable - even that is not enough to convince some people.

That being said - it does not free us from the obligation to spread and share the truth of the gospel with the people around us. I have attached a video story that brought me to tears. My challenge to all of you is this - how can you live out the love of Christ in your own life and impact the lives of the people around you?

It may make a difference - it may not - does it matter? Our job is to share the truth - it is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict the people with regard to their sins and their need for a Savior. At some point, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Which side of the Chasm will you be standing on? Which side will your friends and family be standing on?